I'll Always Be With You
by iceangelmkx
Summary: One Shot, AU. ChunLi reads over Charlie's last letter to her.


**I'll Always Be With You**

Interpol Detective Chun-Li Xiang sat at her office desk doing some paper work. At least she tried to do some paper work. She mostly found herself looking out the window of her office, her mind racing in what seemed like different directions. The sun was beginning to set for the day. It was around this time when she would normally leave her office for the day to go back to her apartment. However, she refused to do so, not until the paper work was done, even if she found herself daydreaming for hours.

She continued to look out the window as she leaned back into her leather chair. She slightly brushed a strand of dark brown hair, which was one of the few strands of hair not tied in her two buns which were done on each side of her head, tied together by a pair of yellow ribbons. Her chestnut eyes continued to stare out the window without much focus, unaware of the busy rush hour a few stories below the tall building she worked in.

Chun-Li stayed like this until she heard a knock on her door. A bit surprised by the sudden noise, she quickly straightened herself out and crossed her legs under the desk. "Come in!" she called out. The door immediately opened and the Chief of Interpol immediately walked in, his pudgy form entering the office.

"Miss Xiang," the Chief began. "I saw your office light on. Why haven't you taken the rest of the night off yet?"

Chun-Li softly sighed to herself as she looked down at the papers below her. "I didn't get these papers done yet, Chief."

"Don't you worry about it, I'll finish them for you if you like."

The young woman forced herself to smile at him. "That's all right Chief. It's my responsibility to finish these and that's what I intend to do. I won't leave this office until I do."

The Chief couldn't help but smile either. "You work too hard, you know that? At least take the papers home with you."

Chun-Li waved a hand. "It's fine Chief, I'd like to finish them here, it'll be easier for me. I'll leave immediately when I'm done. Besides, if something comes up, I'll be here."

The Chief nodded then, giving up on trying to get her workaholic employee to go home. "Well if you insist. I better not find you here at midnight or else I'll give you the day off tomorrow."

Chun-Li laughed. "Don't worry Chief, I'll be out of here before you know it."

With that, the Chief left her office to continue his own work. The moment the door closed, the smile on Chun-Li's face immediately vanished and with a big sigh, she leaned back in her seat. She has been working with the police for too long indeed. The last few weeks everyone had been telling her that she was working too hard and whenever she stayed overtime, they kept telling her to go home.

However, it was a way for Chun-Li to conceal her emotions, a way for her to keep herself busy so that she didn't have to think about it. It was something she hadn't done since her father died and the weeks that followed it after his sudden death.

A thought came to her as she looked out the window once again. '_Charlie…please be okay…'_

She thought about the Air Force pilot Charlie Nash, her love. Chun-Li was never one to open up easily, not until she met Charlie, who along with his friend Guile came to Interpol to help with Chun-Li's mission to take down the criminal organization Shadowlaw, the organization that murdered her father.

For weeks, the three of them had made their plans and even had taken trips to various places around the world to crack down on their operations. Though they were successful at times, they were never able to get to the leader of Shadowlaw, M.Bison.

During that time, Chun-Li and Charlie developed feelings for each other. They both usually wouldn't let such feelings get in the way of their duty, but they couldn't hold back how they felt any longer. For a few weeks after, when the time called for it, they would go on dates to movies, restaurants, and any other fun place.

Three weeks ago, Charlie and Guile went on a secret mission to Brazil because there was evidence of heavy Shadowlaw operations and it was possible that Bison himself was there. Because it was strictly a military operation, Chun-Li wasn't able to go with him and has since been stuck here in Beijing, China.

Chun-Li sighed to herself as she thought about those times. Her heart slowly began to ache as she thought about Charlie, his light blue eyes still heavy in her thoughts. She missed feeling his blond hair on her fingers, which was styled with a lock hanging in front of his face, which she found a bit amusing but cute.

She reached for the top draw of her desk and pulled it back. She then took out an envelope that was addressed to her, which she received just yesterday. It was from Charlie. For the last twenty-four hours, it had been her only true comfort. According to the date, it was written to her two days after Charlie and Guile arrived in Brazil. She wondered if Charlie was writing any more letters to her at this moment.

She took the note out, which was nearly three pages long, and read the letter to herself, his voice echoing in her mind as she read each word slowly…

_Dear Chun-Li,_

_We're here now in Brazil and it's night time. Despite it being summer here, the air still feels a bit cold. Maybe because tomorrow is the day I've dreaded. Tomorrow we are to ambush the Shadowlaw base that the government discovered last week._

_I'm never usually dreading our missions, but this time I am. This feels different somehow, different from all the other missions I've ever been on. Perhaps it's because we knew the danger that lies ahead of us. As you know, Shadowlaw is known to make surprise attacks on unsuspecting militants in the past. We're prepared for it, but I'm not so sure if we're prepared enough._

_As we do prepare, my life seems to suddenly flash before me. It's not usually a good thing when you suddenly think about your whole life because it would usually mean that death wasn't too far. However, I just can't stop thinking about it. The dreadful feeling has definitely grasped on to me._

_I think back on my childhood. My mother raised me by herself, but she was a great mother. My only true regret in life was that I never told her that I loved her before her sudden passing. She deserved better than that._

_I was inspired to join the Air Force because that's what my dad did. He was well respected amongst his ranks and I wanted to see how that felt, perhaps maybe getting some sort of insight on his life, the life cut short before I came to this world._

_I'm happy to know that I had nearly followed the same footsteps as he did. The General was always proud of me. He knew my Dad back in the day and it felt good whenever he told me that I reminded him of my father. It was what I wanted…I was getting some insight on his life as I wished for._

_I was with the Air Force for ten years before I was given my most challenging mission at the time. It was widely believed that one of our own was a POW and since it was all supposed to be top secret, I was the only rescue party. If I was captured, no one could save me. I accepted this and went to Thailand. Thankfully, the mission was a success and that's when I met Guile. He was thankful and wanted to learn my fighting style, which I did teach him. However, because he was hotheaded, he never reached the level that I have._

_However, I think the best thing about this life was meeting you. I guess we have both been keeping ourselves overly occupied that we nearly forgot what life really has to offer. I never knew that love could be as wonderful as this. My other relationships had been the same with the same old sweet girl who would later end it because of some reason that's not backed up too well._

_I'm not lying when I say that with you and I, it's different. I'm not just thinking about my job or my missions anymore. You matter a lot in my life now and I'm grateful for what we have. I never loved anyone as much as I love you._

_To think that I'm some sort of a man of steel to these guys sitting around me as they wait for tomorrow to come. This is a side of me I don't express much and you're the first to see it. I guess it's easier for me to be like this on paper rather than in person. I know you would've wanted to be around the real me anyway._

_I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring, Chun-Li. This crackdown is going to be big and anything can happen tomorrow. I may live, I may die, I don't know. Normally when I'm fighting, I think the same thing…but somehow, I don't know why…this just feels different._

_If something does happen to me, Chun-Li, please know that, whether I live or die, whether I'm in Heaven or Hell, whether I'm physically there or captured in some unknown place…I'll always be with you._

_Please take care of yourself and don't worry about me._

_Love,_

_Charlie._

Chun-Li sighed to herself after reading the letter. It always made her cringe to read those last few paragraphs. It was like he knew he was going to die and it was something Chun-Li told him never to think about. '_You should live your life as though it's your last,_' he had said to her during his last day in China.

She found herself reading the letter over and over countless times until the sun completely set for the night. The young woman looked down at the paper again. '_Maybe the Chief was right…I should do these at home…_'

With that, she picked up her papers, including Charlie's letter, placed them in her briefcase, and left her office for the night.

**------**

**One Week Later…**

On one of her days off, Chun-Li was doing some exercises in her room when she heard a knock on her door. '_Wonder who could that be?_' she asked herself as she shut the techno music she was exercising to off completely. She then picked up a towel, wiped her face with it, and then made her way to the door.

On her way, however, she stopped by a counter in her kitchen. The letter from Charlie, still stuffed in it's envelope, sat there. She took her hand to brush the envelope a bit. As she did, a dreadful feeling came over her. She didn't know why the sudden feeling came over her, but she attempted to shake the feeling off her shoulders. The knock was heard again, getting her back to reality and immediately left the kitchen.

She soon reached the door and opened it. Standing there in full uniform was her friend Guile. This was definitely a surprise to her, she didn't expect him to come at all. For a brief moment, a smile crept across her face and she was about to call out his name in excitement.

However, upon seeing the grim, dark look on his face, the smile quickly faded and it suddenly hit her. Guile had been on the same mission as Charlie in Brazil. And the look on his face didn't have to tell her twice about Charlie's fate.

The tears immediately took over her eyes and though Chun-Li tried to hold them back, they still managed to escape and drip down her round face. Upon seeing the tears, Guile found himself choked up as he said, "I'm sorry Chun-Li." He wrapped his arms around his friend as his own tears escaped his blue eyes. Chun-Li immediately buried her face in his broad chest and let all of her emotions out, not just from Charlie's death, but also from all the other emotions she had managed to hold back for so long.

Chun-Li wasn't sure how long they were like this. All she remembered was during that time, there were a few little words from Charlie's last letter that managed to bring her some little comfort…

_I'll always be with you…_


End file.
